New cement products have a white chalky look on the surface. Not to worry it will go away. It is called efflorescence. It is in every cement product as the main raw material is lime. Moisture and water attaches itself to the calcium oxide and creates the white haze. This will dissipate over time naturally as the calcium oxide exhausts itself. If you are impatient there are efflorescence cleaners on the market to safely remove the efflorescence.

I am asked this question a lot and usually away from earshot of others for fear that they may be asking what everyone else already knows. That is not the case because the person beside you probably asked me the same question when you were not in earshot. Here is some light reading from the definition to features.

Life is full of choices. I think today we have more choices in front of us than ever before because of the broken barriers to obtaining just about anything we want from anywhere in the world without difficulty. Think about it … Jobs, friends, material things, food choices, destinations and the list goes on. I think life was simpler when there were less options available. Now you can look at a million pictures on the Internet to choose what you think you want to duplicate on your own house. That causes problems for a company like ours for a few reasons.

Indecision from Too many choices that would work so people often become paralyzed with choosing one. In some cases they want to know about each one that you could take weeks just to provide a quote for each one and that is not really an expectation one should be placing on their contractor. Tell your contractor what amount you would be open to spending, they can then limit your vast selection of million dollar pictures down to a group.

The final clean up for a jumbo flagstone patio.

Select your top two from the remaining group and then ask about the pros and cons. This should then help with selecting the right one for your budget.

The growing consensus is to use your outdoors as an extension of your home. There are many options in every flyer you open and a wide array of pictures on the Internet. There are even more options for an outdoor space on the layout as you don’t have to worry about walls as you do with indoor spaces. This is where the decision making can be overwhelming. Here are some ways to limit the stress.